Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. daaGh dehlavi (1831-1905) grew up in laal qila and was a shaagird of zauq. Towards the end of his life he lived and died in hyderabad. His Ghazals tend to be light and romantic but their language and musicality lend themselves to singing. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, ‘navaa-haa-e raaz ka’.
1
allah re martaba¹ meray ijz² o niyaaz³ ka
goya⁴ javaab⁵ hai yeh teray kibr⁶ o naaz⁷ ka   1.status 2.humility 3.offering, submission 4.as if 5.answer, equal 6.ego, narcissism 7.pride, coquetry
By god, what a great status my humility and submission have. It is as if they equal to your ego and coquetry. The poet/lover is comparing himself to the beloved.
2
de mujh ko daaGh¹-e ishq keh ehsaan² maan luuN
iss dard-e jaaN-faza³ o Gham-e dil-navaaz⁴ ka   1.wound 2.gratitude, gift 3.life giving, invigorating 4.heart pleasing, kind
Give me the wound of love that I may accept with gratitude this gift of life-giving sorrow and heart-pleasing pain. In urdu poetic tradition the pain of value is greatly valued.
3
khaa-khaa ke rashk¹-e Ghair² shahiidaan³-e ishq se
Gham khaa na jaa’e Khizr⁴ ko umr-e-daraaz⁵ ka   1.envy, jealousy 2.rival 3.martyrs 4.legendary old man 5.long life
Khizr is a legendary old man who discovered the nectar of life and is immortal. In urdu poetic tradition, true lovers achieve martyrdom at the hands of the beloved and this is considered to be a very coveted status. Thus, Khizr is able to see being martyred and becomes envious/jealous and begins to be sorrowful about his own long life. It is this sorrow that might kill him.
4
bigRe¹ huay bhi teGh²-e haqiiqat³ ke zaKhm-zaKhm⁴
haNs-haNs ke muNh chiRhaate haiN ishq-e majaaz⁵ ka    1.annoyed 2.sword 3.truth, reality 4.wounds, cuts 5.worldly, materialistic
The lover is receiving wounds upon wounds by the sword of truth i.e., his dreams are all illusion and crash against reality. Thus, these annoyed wounds laugh at him and make fun of his love of the material.
5
go mohr¹-e lab² hai hukm³ tera iss ka kya ilaaj⁴
dil bolta hai Khud-ba-Khud⁵ aagaah⁶-e raaz⁷ ka   1.sealed, shut 2.lips 3.order 4.expression meaning – what can be done about this 5.by itself 6.aware 7.secret
The beloved orders the poet/lover to keep his love secret in order not to malign her reputation. His lips are sealed shut, but what can he do about this … the ‘this’ here means his heart. His heart is aware of the secret and it speaks by itself; the poet/lover has no control over his heart.
6
aalam¹ tamaam² chashm³-e haqiiqat-nigar⁴ banaa
muNh dekhta hai aaina aaiina-saaz⁵ ka   1.universe 2.all, complete 3.eye 4.one who can see/discern reality/truth 5.mirror maker
In conventional belief the universe is a creation of the divine and it reflects the divine; thus, it is a mirror that reflects the face of the divine. The eye of the one who can discern this reality can see it in the totality, in every part of the universe.
7
yousuf¹ ko chaah² meN to masiiha³ ko charKh⁴ par
aalam⁵ dikha diya hai nasheb-o-faraaz⁶ ka   1.Joseph 2.well 3.messiah, Jesus 4.sky, heaven 5.condition 6.low and high, depth and height
Both Joseph and Jesus are considered to be prophets. Joseph was thrown into a deep well by his brothers in a fit of jealousy because he was the most favourite of their father. Jesus was supposed to have been raised from the dead to the heavens. Thus, this shows the condition of depth and height.
8
harchand¹ raah²-e kaa’ba o but-Khaana³ aek hai
aye raah-rau⁴ hai kaam yahaaN imtiyaaz⁵ ka   1.even though 2.path 3.idol-house, temple, house of the beloved 4.traveller, seeker 5.discernment, discretion, preference, judgement
I am not sure but this might be an interesting play of ambiguous meanings of butKhaana and imtiyaaz. In the first set of meanings … even though the path of the k’aaba and the temple are the same, the seeker has to travel this path with care and judgement. If another set of meanings is used … even though the path to the k’aaba and the beloved’s house is the same, the seeker has to be careful in choosing his destination, implying that the poet/lover would rather choose the beloved’s house.
9
jal-jal ke teray ishq meN ghul¹ jaa’eN isteKhwaaN²
maanind³-e sham’a⁴ lutf⁵ hai soz⁶ o gudaaz⁷ ka   1.dissolve, melt 2.skeleton, frame 3.like, similar to 4.candle 5.pleasure 6.fire, heat 7.softening, melting
Even though the poet/lover burns in love and his frame melts away like a candle, there is a certain pleasure in the in being heated/warmed and softened/melted. This seems to be slightly different from the pleasure of the pain of love. There is no mention of pain. There is only pleasure in burning and melting in love.
10
naakaami¹-e davaam² bhi ho ishq-e jaavedaaN³
aisa asiir⁴ huN havas⁵-e hirs⁶ o aaz⁷ ka   1.failure 2.permanent 3.eternal 4.captive 5.greed 6.avarice 7.lust
In poetic convention, it is a given that the poet/lover will never achieve his goal – union with the beloved. This permanent failure itself becomes his eternal love because he is such a total captive of his greed, avarice and lust (for the beloved).
11
duniya bhi ek behisht¹ hai allaah re karam²
kin ne’matoN³ ko hukm⁴ diya hai juvaaz⁵ ka    1.heaven 2.kindness, benevolence 3.blessings, gifts 4.orders 5.permission, validity
In the poet’s view god has given orders that ‘such’ blessings be made permissible on earth. It is because of these blessings that even this world feels like heaven. It is left to us to imagine what blessings the poet has in mind. There is an implication that orthodoxy does not permit such indulgences, but god has made them permissible.
12
rutbay¹ se meray qaisar² o sanjar³ ko martaba⁴
maiN huN Ghulaam shaah-e iraaq o hijaaz⁵ ka   1.rank, status 2.Caesar 3.ancient Persian emperor 4.rank, status 5.region of makkah and medinah
Here ‘shaah-e iraaq o hijaaz’ refers to mohammed. The poet/devotee declares himself to be slave/devotee of mohammed. This has conferred on him a very high status and this reflects on the status of emperors like Caesar and sanjar.
13
mujh ko na kyuNkar¹ uss ki Ghulaami peh faKhr² ho
mahmood³ ek parda⁴ hai jis ke ayaaz⁵ ka   1.why not 2.pride 3.king mahmood Ghazni 4.veil, screen, reflection 5.devoted slave of mahmood
This has reference to the story of mahmood and ayaaz. ayaaz was a slave but the relationship between the two was one of respect and devotion with an implication of romantic love. Here it is used more in the sufiyaana spirit. The devotion of ayaaz to mahmood is parallel to the devotion of creatures to god. mahmood is a veil/reflection for the real/spiritual love towards god. Thus, why should I not be proud of the slave-status of ayaaz; his love is but a reflection of mystic love.
14
kaunain¹ jis ke naaz² peh chakra³ rahay haiN daaGh⁴
maiN huN niyaaz-mand⁵ usi be-niyaaz⁶ ka    1.both worlds, here and hereafter 2.aloofness, pride 3.spin, dazed, amazed 4.pen-name of the poet 5.offering devotion 6.one who does not need/want anything, unmindful
In conventional thought god is considered ‘be-niyaaz’ – not needing anything that his devotees might have to offer and he practices ‘naaz’ – remains aloof and unreachable. He is so aloof and hidden that all worlds are amazed at this mystery. O daaGh, I am a devotee of that unmindful whose aloofness amazes both worlds.